TOPEKA—The Kansas Supreme Court announced the case it will hear in a special session Tuesday, April 29, in Logan, the next destination in the court’s ongoing outreach to familiarize Kansans with the court, its work, and the overall role of the Kansas judiciary.
The court will be in session at the Logan Intergenerational Family Education Center, also known as the LIFE Center, at 601 W. North Street, where it will hear oral argument in one case. Before oral argument, Chief Justice Marla Luckert will give a brief educational presentation on the Kansas court system.
The presentation is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. From 10 a.m. to about 10:45 a.m., the court will be in session to hear oral argument. After oral argument, the justices will greet in-person attendees at an informal reception.
“We invite the residents of Logan and surrounding communities to join us at the LIFE Center to hear this case,” Luckert said. “It’s a great way to get to know our court, what we do, and how we do it. Plus, we want to meet you at the reception afterward.”
Luckert also expressed appreciation for the LIFE Center hosting the court’s visit at their intergenerational facility that brings together students and the community.
Case on docket
The case on the April 29 docket is:
Appeal No. 127,534: State of Kansas (appellee) v. Stanton S. Holt (appellant)
Geary County: (Criminal appeal) Holt is serving two consecutive life sentences plus 123 to 355 years in prison. A jury convicted Holt in 1994 in Geary County District Court of two counts of first-degree murder, as well as multiple counts of aggravated burglary and other charges related to a series of burglaries in 1993. In October 2020, Holt filed a motion for postconviction DNA testing of trial evidence. The district court initially ordered the evidence be sent to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation lab for testing. However, the district court later rescinded the testing order and denied Holt’s motion after hearing testimony from a KBI supervisor at an evidentiary hearing. The KBI supervisor testified that the evidence the lab received wasn’t appropriately preserved and lacked documentation. The district court concluded that because of how the evidence had been packaged and stored since the trial, DNA testing of the evidence would not produce results accurate to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty. Holt appeals, claiming the district court erred in denying his motion. Holt asserts Kansas law allows him to seek DNA testing and that whether the results of the testing would be accurate to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty is not a factor under the law. The State argues the district court correctly denied Holt's motion for postconviction DNA testing because the evidence had undergone DNA testing at the time of trial. It further argues that even if new DNA testing is done, the condition of the evidence would result in the DNA testing being meaningless or inconclusive.
Case information online
Briefs filed by the attorneys involved in this case are on the judicial branch website at kscourts.gov/travel-docket. Briefs include details about the cases and the issues before the Supreme Court.
Attend the special session
Anyone who wants to attend the special session in person should plan to arrive early to allow time to get through security screening. Doors open at 8:15 a.m. To ease check-in, do not bring:
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food or drink
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large bags, large purses, backpacks, computer cases, or briefcases
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knives, pepper spray, firearms, or weapons
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laptop computers, handheld games, personal digital assistants, or tablets. If you must carry a cellphone, turn it off or silence its ringer and store it out of sight
Decorum during oral argument
Audience members must not talk during oral argument because it interferes with the attorneys’ remarks and questions asked by justices. Talking immediately outside the venue is also discouraged.
If someone arrives after proceedings start, or must leave before they end, they should be as quiet as possible entering and exiting the venue.
Livestream
The special session will be broadcast live online at YouTube.com/KansasSupremeCourt.
Communities visited
In 2011, the Supreme Court began conducting special sessions outside its Topeka courtroom. That year, it marked the state's 150th anniversary by convening in the historic Supreme Court courtroom in the Kansas Statehouse. The court returned to the Statehouse for another special session in January 2025.
Logan will be the 25th community the court will visit since it began the outreach program 14 years ago.
The court has conducted special sessions in Colby, Concordia, Dodge City, El Dorado, Emporia, Garden City, Great Bend, Greensburg, Hays, Hiawatha, Hutchinson, Kansas City, Lawrence, Lansing, Louisburg, Manhattan, Overland Park, Parsons, Pittsburg, Salina, Topeka, Wichita, and Winfield.
Learn more about the court's visit to Logan at kscourts.gov/travel-docket.